Process for the production of ammonia



June 924.

sMLVQF-SEN PROCESS FOR THE ERODUCTION OF AMMONIA Filed Marsh 30. 1923 Patented nlune l?, i924.,

rarest carrer;

BERGER .FJELD HALVORSEN, OF CHBSTIANIA, NORWAY, ASSGNOR TO HORSE EYERQ-ELEETRISK KVAELSTDFAKTESELSKAB, 0F CHRISTIANIA, NUBWAY.

PBXCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF AMMONEA.

pplicetion filed March 30, 1923, Serial No. 628,767.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, BURGER FJnLD HAI.- voRsEN, a subject of the King of Norway, residing at Christiania, Norway, have invented certain new and useful Improve- Vments in Processes for the Production of Ammonia; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the ait to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures oil reference marked thereon, which .form 'a part of this speciication.

This invention has ,for its object a process for the production of ammonia.

Ammonia, as it is known, is now produced either by the destructive distillation of coal or other organic matter, by the saponiication of calcium-cyanamide, or synthetically from hydrogen and nitrogen. @ther methods that are of practical importance are not employed as the well-known reaction between'- cyanide of hydrogen and steam, which under certain conditions leads to the formation of ammonia as shown by the following equation:

HCN -i- H2O z NHS CO.

has apparently not been realized on a commercial scale.

The present invention deals with a process for the production of ammonia in an electric ,furnace which can be e'ected on a commerclally economical scale, 1n which the decomposing .influence which carbonio oxide has on steam is employed by using this reaction in a circular process for obtaining hydrogen which is required by the recess for the production of cyanide or ydrogen. The only material ,thus required for the process is nitrogen, a carbonaceous material and steam, and Athe reactions of the process can be illustrated by the following 3 equations:

n, n, 2o anon i) anon enzo euri, eco e; aco arno eco, en, a

As it a vpears from these equations twice as much hydrogen is obtained by equation 3 as that which is consumed in equation l and fthe gas therefore becomes steadily richer in hydrogen, 'Un now taking the necthan carbon monoxide.

' tioned as samples of such carbonaceous materials: pulverized coal, pitch, tar, illumihating gas, 8vo.

A cyclic process ei'ected in this manner has not only the advantage that the raw material required for the production, which is most important taken Afrom an economical point of View, is formed during the process itself, but it also has the technical advantage that the carbon monoxide which is formed during the production ci ammonia, is converted into carbon dioxide, which is far easier to remove from the gas mixture The reaction according to equation 1 rcquires a very high temperature and is therefore effected in an electric arc furnace of some serviceable type or other. The saponiiication process (equation 2) can'take place at 1000"-1200o C., or, if a catalyzer is employed at a still lower temperature (700- 300 (21.). As the reaction according to equation 3 requires a correspondingly low degree of temperature, both these reactions (either wholly or partly) can be eected in a single operation, so that ammonia, car-bon cli-oxide and hydrogen are directly obtained.

An example of how the process ma be f performed is given in the following, an attention is called to the'drawing, which illustrates a suitable apparatus.

A represents an electric furnace into which a mixture of gas, consisting of nitrogon and hydrogen, and a carbonaccous substance, for instance, tar, 1s mtroduced. The

reaction gases which leave the furnace at a temperature of about 12000 C. are oonducted into'a converting apparatus, B, into, which steamv is simultaneously blown through a tube C, and where the conversion of the hydrocyenic acid into ammonio-end carbon monoxide 1s e'ected. The gases ere vthen conducted through e boiler i), Where 'V retos F endif, W .ere ammonio und carbonio scid is removed. These apparatus can also be percolsted with scid, so that e salt or" emrooniumis obtained, ior instance, nitrate or" ammonium or suiphate of emrnoniurn. in this cese it is necessary to remove the carbonio scid in e, seperate absorption apparatus. The gases are sucked out of the absorption system by the ventilator, ijvhich orces'inost of the gases boch into the 'turna-ice. rihe superfiu'ous gas is teken out et i' und can' be used es mentioned above for production of the nitrogen necessary to the process. This ges con be added at K, While the carbonio materiel necessary to the process is either ,added before furnace A. at L, or is conducted straight into the furnace. E? the reactions according to equutions 2 und 3 ere to toire place Wholly es e sin ie rocess the :rases from furnace A' must be cooled to a suitable temperature before they enter converting apparatus B, in which they, in this case, are exposed to the iniiuence of steam in the presence of a, cetalyzer.

The processes described above can to advantage be carried out underpressure whereby vhe output is increased and the 'reactions are more complete.

Claims:

l. The process of producing ammonio `which comprises re-ecting upon carbonaceous materials in, en electric orc furnace incensi xviii gases containing nitrogen and hydrogen c produce hydrocyanic acid/,as an intermediary product, re-acting upon the hydrocyanic acid with steam, removing :uninonlu and carbon dioxide from the resulte ing gers, enriching a substantial proportion of the seme with nitrogen and carbon and.

returning the resulting gas mixture to the electric furnace.

2. A cyclic process /for producin y aznrnonia, which comprises passing a, mixture of gases containing hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon through un v'electric arc furnace, adding steam to resulting gases, thereby forming ammonia and hydrogen, and returning gas containing hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon to the furnace.

3. A process for producing ammonia, which comprises passing o. mixture of gases containing hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon through un electric arc furnace, treating the resultant gases with steam in of a catclyzenremoving ammonia and carbon dioxide, and returning gas containing hydrogen and nitrogen in uncombine'd form and carbon in combined, form to the furnace. s

i., The process of producing ammonia which comprises reacting upon carbonathe presence l ceous materials in an electric arc furnace,

with gases containing nitrogen and hydrogen 1n uncomblned form to produce hydrocyanic acid as an intermediary product, re-

acting upon the hydrocyenlc vacid Withl eisers MELD HALvoRsE.

Witnesses: MARIE BERGQUIST,

FnrcoLF HARALDEN.

that claim the foregoing 

